Honest Advent

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Honest Advent

Author : Scott Erickson
Publisher : Zondervan
Page : 218 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2020-10-20
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780310361886

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Honest Advent by Scott Erickson Pdf

In a world that's difficult to make sense of, and a season that's so often overtaken by consumerism, here you'll find heart-stirring illustrations and thought-provoking meditations designed to show you the raw, powerfully sacred story of Christmas in a new light. Has the joy of the holiday season become painfully dissonant with the hard edges of life? Do you feel weary from the way Christmas has become a polished, predictable brand? You aren't alone. For too many of us, Christmas has lost its wonder. What if we stopped treating the Christmas story as something that happened a long time ago and started believing that it's a story that's still happening today? From celebrated artist and storyteller Scott Erickson comes Honest Advent, 25 days of illustrations and meditations that will help you rekindle the wonder of this season. Honest Advent creates a space for you to encounter the Incarnate Christ in unexpected places: like a pregnancy announcement in an era of political unrest and empirical bloodshed, the morning sickness of a Middle Eastern teenager, and the shocking biology of birth that goes far beyond the sanitized brand of Christmas as we know it today. Within the pages of Honest Advent, Erickson teaches us the valuable lessons he's learned about: Finding hope and light in the darkest winters What it means to embrace the unexpected How God uses everyday vulnerability to help us understand ourselves, and our faith, better Through powerful benedictions, prayers, and questions for honest reflection, you'll discover how the wonder of God-with-Us is still happening today: in your unexpected change of plans, your unaccomplished dreams, your overcrowded lodging, and your humble stories of new beginnings. Praise for Honest Advent: "Scott Erickson's beautifully crafted book helped me see God-with-Us with fresh eyes. Honest Advent is no shallow seasonal gift book; it's an invitation to explore the divine flourishes of everyday human vulnerabilities. A transformative read, regardless of the time of year." --Jonathan Merritt, author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch "Beautiful. Evocative. A wake-up call to the mystery of life." --John Mark Comer, author of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Low

Author : John Pavlovitz
Publisher : Chalice Press
Page : 64 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2019-08-20
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0827221932

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Low by John Pavlovitz Pdf

Advent is about God -- and Jesus -- coming to meet us in the low places of our lives, when we are our most vulnerable.

A Surprising God

Author : Thomas G. Long,Donyelle C. McCray
Publisher : Westminster John Knox Press
Page : 131 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2021-08-24
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781646982158

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A Surprising God by Thomas G. Long,Donyelle C. McCray Pdf

The world is slowly emerging from the worst global emergency in a century, and the myriad struggles of the contemporary moment—division, isolation, illness, and uncertainty—make living our faith a challenge. For Christians, a number of questions have gained new urgency: Where do we find hope when it seems in such short supply? Where are the signs of God's peace in this divided world? Where do we find a deeper sense of joy? Thomas G. Long and Donyelle C. McCray remind us that these are the questions of Advent in their new daily devotional, A Surprising God. Mindful of the stresses of life today in a world torn apart by conflict, marked by political division, and in the midst of a global health crisis, these devotions for Advent and Christmas invite readers to honest reflection on the challenges of being people of faith in this moment. Long and McCray explore what it means to wait for our salvation, to be open to the surprising thing that God is about to do, and to find hope in God's choice of the small and the insignificant.

Say Yes

Author : Scott Erickson
Publisher : Zondervan
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2022-01-25
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780310361923

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Say Yes by Scott Erickson Pdf

Say Yes gives you the mental and spiritual practices you need to enjoy your life again--and bring greater fullness than you could imagine before. "My life doesn't look anything like I wanted it to. How do I even keep going?" When the dreams for our life die, our vision of who we hoped to become often dies too. That's when The Voice of Giving Up appears. Visual artist and spiritual director Scott Erickson has had long midnight conversations with The Voice of Giving Up, and he knows how anxiety and depression make The Voice especially loud. But he's discovered that our darkest moments are sometimes doorways to a deeper, more joy-filled journey of recovering who we are, why we're here, and why the future bursts with possibilities if we are willing to say yes to life's brightest gifts. In Say Yes, Scott helps you learn how to reawaken your deepest desires, disempower your greatest fears, and identify the destructive narratives holding you back. Combined with Scott's beautiful, thought-provoking illustrations, this is a profound exploration of beginning again after: Disappointment at how life is turning out Suspecting we are not prepared or smart enough Losing hope that change is possible and that pain can have a purpose Take the first step to gain the gentle yet powerful tools you need, and say yes to what lies ahead today.

Prayer: Forty Days of Practice

Author : Justin McRoberts,Scott Erickson
Publisher : WaterBrook
Page : 130 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2019-02-05
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780525653059

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Prayer: Forty Days of Practice by Justin McRoberts,Scott Erickson Pdf

A simple yet profound guide to facilitate the instinctively human desire to pray. We pray because we are human, not because we are religious. Something in our nature points beyond itself; something in us searches for and desires personal connection with God. Although communicating with our Creator through prayer is innate, the effective practice of it often feels just beyond our reach. This unique book guides you to pray in deeper and more authentic ways. The short prayers and thought-provoking imagery, interspersed with contemplative reflections and suggested practices, will stir, inform, and encourage you. The simplicity of the prayers and the aesthetic appeal of the images will inspire people in every facet of life, including those with no real religious background at all.

Silence and Other Surprising Invitations of Advent

Author : Enuma Okoro
Publisher : Upper Room Books
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2012-09-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780835811705

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Silence and Other Surprising Invitations of Advent by Enuma Okoro Pdf

Usually when we think of the Advent story, Mary, Joseph, and the angel Gabriel come to mind. Okoro approaches Advent a little differently, inviting us to sit for a while with Zechariah and Elizabeth and the story of how they came to bear their only son, John. "The Advent story we so often associate with the joy of Christmas actually begins with deep sorrow and longing. But thankfully, in the kingdom of God, there is always more to the story than meets the eye," Enuma Okoro writes. Zechariah and Elizabeth were good people. They had maintained faith and hope in God for many years, despite Elizabeth's inability to conceive, a condition considered shameful in their time. So they were quite familiar with the universal human experiences of longing and waiting. Even though this couple's story takes up only one chapter in Luke's Gospel, it contains enough lessons about faith and life to last for weeks. In her beautifully written, imaginative meditations for each day of Advent, Okoro looks closely at the doubts and longings of Zechariah and Elizabeth. As you explore their story, Okoro guides you to reflect on your own experiences of waiting and longing, of grief and the need for community, and of hungering for God. These poetic and poignant meditations will linger with you long after Christmas. Reflection questions and a prayer challenge accompany each week's meditations. A perfect book for individual or group study.

All Creation Waits

Author : Gayle Boss
Publisher : Paraclete Press
Page : 75 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2016-10-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781612618791

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All Creation Waits by Gayle Boss Pdf

Open a window each day of Advent onto the natural world.

May It Be So

Author : Justin McRoberts,Scott Erickson
Publisher : WaterBrook
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2019-09-24
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780525653080

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May It Be So by Justin McRoberts,Scott Erickson Pdf

Combining prayers in two languages--words and images--this contemporary prayer guide will help you spend time in conversation with God. As people of faith, we all struggle at times to sustain a flourishing prayer life--a loss felt all the more keenly in these times of confusion, political turbulence, and global calamity. This unique book offers a timeless solution for the spiritual and skeptical alike. Combining story-driven reflections with visual and written prayers, this simple 40-day prayer guide will help you reconnect with God as you rediscover your own ongoing conversation with Him. Using the familiar refrains in the Lord's Prayer as a guide, this groundbreaking resource invites you to reconnect with God creatively and organically.

How Winston Came Home for Christmas

Author : Alex T. Smith
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 174 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2022-09-13
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 9781667200996

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How Winston Came Home for Christmas by Alex T. Smith Pdf

Join Winston the mouse on another holiday adventure in this charming sequel to How Winston Delivered Christmas! With five days until Christmas, Winston has a fuzzy memory of a song and someone important to him who is lost—but who could it be? With the help of his friends, Winston sets off on an adventure to find this very special someone. Along the way, Winston meets delightful new friends that help him get closer to solving the mystery. How Winston Came Home for Christmas is an illustrated book written in twenty-four-and-a-half chapters, one to be read each night in December in the countdown to Christmas. Each chapter is accompanied by a festive activity for readers to enjoy, including holiday decorations, crafts, recipes, and so much more, and the book includes a ribbon bookmark to mark your page. This heartwarming holiday adventure is sure to become a Christmas classic to be enjoyed each year.

Suffer Strong

Author : Katherine Wolf,Jay Wolf
Publisher : Zondervan
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2020-02-11
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780310344599

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Suffer Strong by Katherine Wolf,Jay Wolf Pdf

Is it possible to embrace suffering as a privilege, rather than a punishment? Beloved authors Katherine and Jay Wolf offer readers the bold invitation to trust a known God with an unknown future, as well as practical insights into surviving anything by redefining how we think about everything. After miraculously surviving a near-fatal brainstem stroke at age 26, as told in their memoir, Hope Heals, life for Katherine and Jay Wolf changed forever - and so did the way they viewed God, the world, and themselves in it. There was no going back to normal after such a tragedy. Yet Katherine and Jay learned that suffering is not the end, but rather the beginning of a new story. In Suffer Strong, they invite us into this new story as they share universal lessons and helpful practices that will help us to: Recognize we are being equipped for an uncommon assignment, not cursed by our story. Transform our unmet expectations into brave anticipations. Disrupt the myth that joy can only be found in a pain-free life. Rewrite the narrative of hard circumstances by turning our definitions of suffering into declarations of strength. And, ultimately, thrive even in the lives we never imagined living.

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Author : John Mark Comer
Publisher : WaterBrook
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2019-10-29
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780525653103

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The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer Pdf

ECPA BESTSELLER • A compelling emotional and spiritual case against hurry and in favor of a slower, simpler way of life “As someone all too familiar with ‘hurry sickness,’ I desperately needed this book.”—Scott Harrison, New York Times best-selling author of Thirst “Who am I becoming?” That was the question nagging pastor and author John Mark Comer. Outwardly, he appeared successful. But inwardly, things weren’t pretty. So he turned to a trusted mentor for guidance and heard these words: “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life.” It wasn’t the response he expected, but it was—and continues to be—the answer he needs. Too often we treat the symptoms of toxicity in our modern world instead of trying to pinpoint the cause. A growing number of voices are pointing at hurry, or busyness, as a root of much evil. Within the pages of this book, you’ll find a fascinating roadmap to staying emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world.

Low

Author : John Pavlovitz
Publisher : Chalice Press
Page : 64 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2019-08-20
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780827221949

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Low by John Pavlovitz Pdf

Amidst the bright lights and wrappings of a sentimentally saturated Christmas season, we tend to forget about the gritty, messy reality of the Advent story as it was experienced 2,000 years ago. In this honest Advent devotional, best-selling progressive Christian author John Pavlovitz reminds us that God came to meet us in the low places of our lives — and that Jesus continues to come low this Advent season. When we plant our feet firmly in the dirt of everyday life, we see Jesus meeting us in the low places: when we live humbly, when we seek forgiveness, in our grief and suffering, when we act on behalf of someone else, when we pray. As we walk the road of Advent, Jesus reminds us the invitation is not to escape this world to an elevated Heaven somewhere else, but to bring Heaven down. “God with us” is Jesus, getting low. Each devotional includes a scripture and Advent reflection on Jesus meeting us on the ground.

Hope Heals

Author : Katherine Wolf,Jay Wolf
Publisher : Zondervan
Page : 259 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2016-04-26
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780310344551

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Hope Heals by Katherine Wolf,Jay Wolf Pdf

When all seems lost, where can you find hope? Katherine and Jay Wolf married right after college and sought adventure far from home in Los Angeles, CA. As they pursued their dreams--she as a model and he as a lawyer--they planted their lives in the city and their church community. Their son, James, came along unexpectedly in the fall of 2007, and just six months later, everything changed in a moment for this young family. On April 21, 2008, as James slept in the other room, Katherine collapsed, suffering a massive brain stem stroke without warning. Miraculously, Jay came home in time and called for help. Katherine was immediately rushed into brain surgery, though her chance of survival was slim. As the sun rose the next morning, the surgeon proclaimed that Katherine had survived the removal of part of her brain, though her future recovery was uncertain. Yet in that moment, there was a spark of hope. Through forty days on life support in the ICU and nearly two years in full-time brain rehab, that small spark of hope was fanned into flame. Hope Heals documents Katherine and Jay's journey as they struggled to regain Katherine's quality of life and as she relearned to talk, eat, and walk. As Katherine returned home with a severely disabled body but a completely renewed purpose, she and Jay committed to celebrating this gift of a second chance by embracing life fully, even though that life looked very different than they could have ever imagined. As you uncover Katherine and Jay's remarkable story, you'll be encouraged to: Find lasting hope in the midst of struggle Embrace the unexpected Welcome God's miracles into your everyday life In the midst of continuing hardships, both in body and mind, Katherine and Jay found what we all long to find: a hope that heals the most broken place--our souls. Let Hope Heals be your guide along the way. Praise for Hope Heals: "As I read this book, tears streamed from my eyes even as joy flooded my heart. Jay and Katherine are a raw yet refreshing testimony to the unshakable trustworthiness of God amidst the unimaginable trials of life. This book reminds all of us where hope can be found in a world where none of us know what the next day holds." --David Platt, author of the New York Times bestseller Radical and president of the International Mission Board "Hope Heals is a beautiful, true story that illustrates the love and protection God has for us even in the darkest times of our lives. Katherine and Jay's dedication to each other and the Lord through their most devastating season is inspiring. This book will help your heart believe that He sees, He knows, He cares, and He is still working miracles today!" --Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries

Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas

Author : Traci Smith
Publisher : Chalice Press
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2020-08-18
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780827211384

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Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas by Traci Smith Pdf

In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s easy for families to forget the true meaning of the season. In this new book of faith practices for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, parents, grandparents, Sunday School teachers, pastors, and anyone who cares about kids will find 100 easy, fun, and meaningful ideas for bringing the sacred back into the season. Divided into three sections of prayers, practices, and lessons, with pages decorated with whimsical Christmas doodles from the cover, Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas will delight kids and adults alike and offers families an abundance of ideas for making the Christmas season sparkle with faith and spirit.

The 2023 Canterbury Preacher's Companion

Author : Catherine Williams
Publisher : Canterbury Press
Page : 316 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2022-07-11
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781786223647

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The 2023 Canterbury Preacher's Companion by Catherine Williams Pdf

A longstanding annual favourite continues under its new editorship bringing a wide variety of preaching voices together to offer a resource for preaching at the principal and the second service every Sunday of the coming year, plus on principal feast days and seasonal services. Ideal for preachers in all churches that use the Revised Common Lectionary, it also includes sermons for holy days, major saints’ days and special occasions such as Mothering Sunday, harvest, rogation and Christmas services. If preparation time is short, the sermons are complete and can be used as they are, but they will also act as a framework for creating your own sermon texts. It also includes: - an introductory essay for preachers - all-age talks for special occasions - hymn suggestions throughout the year - an index of topics and names A boon for hard-pressed clergy, readers and local preachers everywhere.